Main menu

Sign up for our newsletter

Charles Jeffrey Loverboy Fall/Winter 2018

January 08, 2018

Charles Jeffrey Loverboy has chosen to lash out for LFWM, and lavishly so, with a well-titled Fall/Winter collection, Tantrum.

The show notes for this specific season were so salicious, so wonderfully and weirdly Scottish, that almost any deviation from the designer's own words seems a disservice to us all. Therefore, although fashion season has barely begun, Jeffrey is already in the running for the prize of press release.

So, from here, we will leave the rest to Loverboy himself.

“O Flower of Scotland, When will we see Your like again That fought and died for, Your wee bit hill and glen, And stood against him, Proud Edward's Army, And sent him homeward, Tae think again” -Roy Williamson

“Anger is an Energy. And when I get angry, I get Scottish.” -Charles Jeffrey

Media courtesy of Charles Jeffrey

Still reeling from success and accolades, and amid the maddening frenzy of being touted as one of London’s brightest young things, Charles Jeffrey looked to his native Scotland for a moment of reflection. What he found was a sleeping volcano of residual anger that need to erupt with a raging energy; an implacable compulsion to scream and shout from the top of the glen.

This collection - 'Tantrum' - is imbued with heightened emotion and an exploration of pain. A vital part of Tantrum’s narrative centres on the myth of gay pride and confidence, with all its pecockery and aggressive flamboyance. Integral to it is Alan Downs’ ‘The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World’ (2005) which addresses the sense of invalidation around heteronormative societal pressures on gay men, which after three decades of post-Aids concentration on gay men’s physical health, turns inward to their mental wellbeing.

The loud, louche exterior becomes a shield to stand behind, and an existential quest for validation somacitises itself in hard-edged glamour and hardcore hedonism. The burden is literal, and the sense of swimming upstream is combined with a distinct Scottish stubbornness. Menacing silhouettes, loud and large, are akin to animalistic gestures to protect oneself from predators. The extremity — and the elegance — of Charles James’ and Christian Dior’s wasp-y couture reflect a gilded constriction, actively uncomfortable yet intrinsically uncompromising.

At its core, though, there’s a distinct Caledonian sensibility. Illustrative jerseys cling to the skin, evoking naked Pictish body adornment. Wallace tartans are combined with LOVERBOY’s own tartan; a transcendental bridge between ancient and contemporary. Kilts are reconfigured with a DIY rigour. Apotropaic iconography is utilised as energy-affirming totemic motifs, representing words such as ‘Truth’, ‘Love’, ‘Energy’, ‘Power’, ‘Male’ and ‘Female’. Everyday basics seen on the streets of Glasgow are imbued with more than a wee bit of flirtatious verve.

Jeffrey continues to propose new ideas around men's and women's silhouettes, showcasing an expanded Womenswear offer for Autumn / Winter '18. Gaelic priestesses and Macbethian witches are shrouded in mists of intense colour and demonic adornments.

Richardson x PornHub 2.0

November 18, 2018

Last fall, Richardson and PornHub teamed up on an a capsule collection that they celebrated with a massive rager during Fashion Week. It was one of the season's most-talked about parties, with everyone either excited about the partnership or left wondering what the brand was doing getting into porn. Of course, office was the former. As fans of both Richardson and PornHub, we couldn't wait to get our hands on the collection. So, when we heard the duo was releasing an all new limited edition line, well, we were more than pumped.

Available now, the second Richardson x PornHub collaboration is a 13-piece capsule including hoodies, crewnecks, bombers, slip-on sandals, baseball hats, tote bags, playing cards and socks—basically something for everyone, and their porn-loving dad.

The pieces feature PornHub's now iconic logo, as well as Richardson's famous 'R,' alongside a print that includes flags of all the countries in which porn is legal, as well as the the ones where it's sadly not. Another shirt, inspired by a fan at the recent PornHub awards, includes signatures from some of today's biggest porn stars.

10Soul at Opening Ceremony

November 18, 2018

Opening Ceremony is no stranger to a stimulating collaboration—but its newest partnership, 10Soul, goes beyond teaming up just for the sake of aesthetics. Choosing the top ten talent from Seoul Fashion Week every year, 10Soul aims to expose its designers to a global platform, this wear with the help of Opening Ceremony.

To launch the collaboration, OC co-founder Carol Lim hosted an installation in the brand’s New York City flagship featuring designers A.Bell, BLINDNESS, Bourie, D-Antidote, HCL, J KOO, MÜNN, Pushbutton, YCH, and Youser. Last Tuesday, the brands gathered to share their latest collections (some, for the first time outside of Korea), while DJ and musician (and office favorite) Yaeji provided the soundtrack, and chef Deuki Hong hooked up the food. As a fashion event, the party was an exciting showcase of emerging and established Korean talent. As a whole, it served an even higher purpose of celebrating and supporting Korean culture within the arts.

Given the current political and social climate in South Korea and its buzzing capital, the ten selected designers have a well of raw inspiration with which to draw from—unsurprisingly resulting in completely original products that mainstream fashion has yet to explore.

Walking around the event, office got to know the designers behind five of the selected labels: Blindness, Bourie, D-Antidote, Münn and Youser. We also had the chance to chat with Carol Lim about the importance of supporting Korean designers and identity within the realm of fashion.

Tell me a bit about this event.

Carol Lim: We have been attending Seoul Fashion Week since we began—2012 was our ten year anniversary, so for the last six and a half years, we’ve been partnering with Seoul Fashion Week. They started this platform called 10Soul, where they ask different people, including us, to select the ten greatest designers from Seoul Fashion Week. This year, they asked us if we would host the actual activation, which brings the hosts to NYC, giving them a larger global platform.

Why Seoul?

Carol Lim: I think so much is happening in Seoul on a cultural level—its music, K-Pop, film, dramas, food. So, the arts is just something that the government supports, which I think is really amazing. There’s a lot of momentum and I don’t think that’s going to stop any time soon.

Opening Ceremony has produced so many incredible collaborations. What makes this one different?

Carol Lim: Being Korean myself, I find it very personal to be able to put on an event like this one. Supporting designers from where I’m from is extra exciting, because we share a lot of values together. But I think supporting young talent has always been a part of Opening Ceremony’s DNA. And when all of the talent is from your country, it brings it all home. Myself and Soo Joo Park are hosting, Yaeji is doing the music and all of the food is by chef Deuki Hong. So, this particular event was really about supporting Korean people in all aspects of the arts.

As the creative director of an LVMH brand yourself, what does it mean to you to be able to aid fellow LVMH designers?

Carol Lim: It’s part of what we do. We’ve always said we’re like a retailer’s retailer—astore that’s friends with other stores. It’s funny because when we opened the doors in 2002, other stores came to us saying, ‘We want to buy your Opening Ceremony line,’ and we were like, ‘You do?’ But soon we realized, ‘Why shouldn’t we sell it in Japan? Why shouldn’t we sell it in Europe?’ We try to be as inclusive as possible, so it means a lot to help others who are now in that same position.

What do you hope aspiring designers can take away from the 10Soul installation?

Carol Lim: First, I think you have to be persistent and determined—you have to try and don’t give up. I’ve had people follow me off the subway to give me their lookbooks and honestly, I commend them. I mean, don’t be crazy about it—but I look at every e-mail I get. You never know what could happen when you’re working hard. Love it with all your heart and soul.

Above: Lee Mooyeol (Youser) and Eun-hye Jo (Bourie)

How would you describe the concept behind your brand?

Youser: The concept is deconstruction. I really wanted to create something new. I take a lot of my inspiration from specific architecture that I see, whether it’s buildings or workspaces.

Bourie: It’s all based on detail. We really like to add an avant-garde detail to all of our pieces. This particular line, however, is focused around the idea of the difference between men and boys.

How has Seoul influenced your work?

Youser: I have lived in Seoul my entire life. It has been overdeveloped in a short amount of time, so it’s very busy as a result. The constant new buildings serve as a very big inspiration to me.

Bourie: Right now, streetwear is very popular in Seoul, but we’re definitely pushing away from that. We are taking fashion back to a more classic aesthetic.

In which element of your pieces—color, texture or style—is your favorite to experiment with right now?

Youser: Of course, every element is very important to me, but the most important is always the silhouette.

If you could relate Bourie’s style to that of a famous painter, who would it be?

Bourie: I think it would be Joan Miró, the Spanish painter. I really like his paintings and in some way, I think we can see a related sense of kitsch in both his works and this collection.

Münn: The whole concept of the brand is reformulating. I look at things from a very unusual perspective to make my clothing. It may be different for most people, but it’s normal for me.

D-Antidote: The entire concept of my brand comes from my inspiration with the current youth culture. We also try to always combine the inspiration from two different types of cities—in this particular case, Seoul and London—in terms of trends and culture. That’s why a lot of our clothing has this label with the combination of the two: ‘SEOULONDON.’

Blindness: It’s genderless—there is no men’s and women’s clothes. But the collection you’re viewing now, within the construct of genderlessness, is titled, ‘Peace Within The War.’

How has Seoul influenced your work?

Münn: Seoul is a fast-paced city—things change quickly and recently, there has been a huge K-Pop influence. I have a collaboration with the whole K-entertainment industry which helps propel me to work at a similar speed in relation to how things are being digested by the public.

D-Antidote: Seoul is a trendy city, but is still very up-and-coming. So, we focus on the trends that are specific to the city and when mixing that with some of the traditions in London, we get something unique.

Blindness: Korea is still within a war of its own. They are in a truce, but there was never really resolution. Every man eligible, or above 21, has to go to the military for two years. Most would say that war is a very masculine word, but we are trying to make this entire idea more genderless.

Your line mixes ‘60s-inspired details with a modern sort of minimalism. What’s the thought process behind that?

Münn: Lately, streetwear is on trend, but what I strive to practice is this sort of classic tailoring technique which was used throughout the ‘60s. That’s where I’ve found my niche—creating modern style with a retro technique.

What’s the story behind the name D-Antidote?

D-Antidote: It quite literally means ‘the antidote’—we are trying to detoxify members of this generation who may be poisoned by societal factors. We’d like to think of ourselves as a sort of solution.

Can you explain how your line reflects current culture and society?

Blindness: The whole genderless movement is not mainstream right now in Seoul, but we are on the frontier of trying to make it more and more common.

You can shop looks from the 10Soul designers at Opening Ceremony in NYC now.

OUTLIER at On Canal

November 17, 2018

Earlier this week, office stopped by the Wallplay x Vibe Studios brainchild, On Canal, to see their newest pop-up shop dedicated to New York-based apparel brand, OUTLIER. To celebrate their 10 year anniversary, the brand has curated a rare IRL space filled with archival pieces and campaign imagery from the last decade.

With a focus on quality and construction, and a loyalty to their fans that keeps them dedicated to every single piece they create, OUTLIER is basically a movement against fast fashion. They’re not trend-driven; they don’t care about hype; and they don’t follow rules. They’re fashion’s minimal enfant terrible—aliteral outlier.

And they always want to learn more. Using high quality fabrics and constantly on the lookout for new technology, designers Abe Burmeister and Tyler Clemens hope to always remain innovative and make stylish clothes that help you through an urban environment.

Walking through the space at On Canal, it’s clear that the duo has a passion for experimentation and a function-driven design process. In their desire to build their own market, OUTLIER delivers garments that push boundaries and force the wearer to make conscious decisions about what their clothes.

"This show gives customers new and old a chance to take a trip through our last ten years as a brand,” they said, “from the simple yet highly functional core items, to the wild experimental side, where we push the boundaries of what's possible."

View some photos of the space, below.

The OUTLIER shop will be open at 321 Canal Street starting November 17 from 12 to 7PM.